The Effect of Live Cat and Simulation Cat Therapies on Oncology Patients

Happiness Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Effect of Live Cat and Simulation Cat Therapies on Oncology Patients' Post-Chemotherapy Symptoms and Happiness Levels: A Randomized Controlled Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06280612
• Other study ID #: RCS10042023
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 1, 2023
• Est. completion date: September 1, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: February 2024
• Source: Karadeniz Technical University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

It is known that animals are good for humans physiologically and psychologically. Therefore, in this study, the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels of oncology patients after chemotherapy were examined.

Description:

Cancer is a disease that requires a long-term struggle with the psychosocial and economic burden it creates on the individual, family and society, bringing with it many health problems. Although chemotherapy treatment is the main treatment method for patients, it can cause some changes in the individual's appearance while treating cancer and many symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, and constipation after treatment. At the same time, patients may feel tired, sleepy and depressed after treatment. However, cancer patients and their families experiencing some unknown diagnosis and treatment processes related to cancer also cause them to be unhappy as a result of experiencing some physical, social, emotional and spiritual problems during the treatment.

It is reported in the literature that pet therapy or animal-assisted treatments reduce disease-related symptoms and make patients happy. Pet therapy is an auxiliary non-pharmacological form of treatment that heals physiological and psychological diseases through interactions between animals and humans that meet certain criteria, and stimulates and activates the body mechanisms required for the development of the individual's health behaviors. In the literature, pet therapy studies with oncology patients are quite limited. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of live cat and robotic cat therapies on the symptoms and happiness levels experienced by oncology patients after chemotherapy.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 45
• Est. completion date: September 1, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: July 15, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Criteria for admission to the study are 18= of age,

• Agreeing to participate in the research,

• Being conscious of receiving outpatient chemotherapy treatment for 3= months, and being able to communicate.

• The criteria included no impairment in mental and cognitive functions of patients/relatives in the live group,

• Patients in the live cat group not having any animal allergies, and the cat group having a cat.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not agreeing to participate in the research,

• Being under 18 years of age,

• Having known psychological disorders, having a visual, hearing, or speech disability, and having an animal allergy.

• Also excluded are having a surgical wound (suture, drainage, etc.), neutropenia or severe infection (by resistant bacteria), fever, diarrhea, respiratory symptoms or vomiting during the week before the start of the study.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cancer Patient
• Happiness
• Neoplasms, Second Primary
• Symptoms
• Therapy-Associated Cancer

Intervention

Other:
• Pet therapy
The patients were allowed to spend time with an animal (cat/robotic cat) for 20 minutes twice a week for 12 weeks.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Turkey	Gümüshane University	Gümüshane

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Karadeniz Technical University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Turkey, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Edmonton Symptom Diagnostic Scale	The scale includes "pain, fatigue, nausea, sadness, anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite, the feeling of well-being, shortness of breath and other problems (changes in the skin and nails, sores in the mouth, numbness in the hands)." Sadirli and Ünsar added other problems to the scale. Therefore, the current version with 11 items was used in this study. The severity of each symptom ranges from "no symptoms" to "very severe," with increasing numerical intensity between 0 and 10.; "Edmonton Symptom Diagnostic Scale" were administered to the patients three times in total before the study (pretest), at the sixth week/middle (intermediate measurement), and the end of the 12th week/end of the survey (posttest).	12 Weeks
Primary	Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form	In the Turkish adaptation, the scale has seven items and a 5-point Likert type. The scores obtained from the items on the scale vary from "1 point: I Completely Disagree" to "5 points: I Completely Agree", with the lowest being seven and the highest being 35 points.; "Oxford Happiness Scale Short Form" were administered to the patients three times in total before the study (pretest), at the sixth week/middle (intermediate measurement), and the end of the 12th week/end of the survey (posttest).	12 Weeks